The month of April is dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament, the Holy Eucharist. It is an essential mystery to believe in the real presence of Jesus Christ’s body and blood in the consecrated host (the Eucharist) that appears to be simply bread and wine.
Eucharistic Adoration is a wonderful way to foster this source and summit of our Catholic faith, to truly connect with our Lord in trusting ourselves to him in front of a holy monstrance that contains the body and blood of Jesus in the holy Eucharist. This can help us continue our Easter joy of Christ’s resurrection. Finding time to spend with him who calls us to be holy is a great way to show our love for our Lord.
“Look upon the hour of adoration assigned to you as an hour in paradise,” wrote St. Peter Julian Eymard. “Go to your adoration as one would to heaven, to the divine banquet. You will then long for that hour and hail it with joy. Take delight in fostering a longing for it in your heart. Tell yourself, ‘In four hours, in two hours, in one hour, our Lord will give me an audience of grace and love. He has invited me; he is waiting for me; he is longing for me.’”
Stepping into the candlelit chapel, I knelt before the Blessed Sacrament on the altar. I exhaled a large breath and bowed my head. “Please, Lord, take care of everything.”
My thoughts buzzed around me. Slowly as I spent time in the Lord’s presence my thoughts quieted down. I gazed at the Holy Eucharist in the monstrance.
“Can you spend some time with me in prayer?” I felt Jesus was asking me, like at the time in the garden of Gethsemane. He asked his disciples to “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.”
I sat in silence hoping for a word or an inspiration from Jesus, that I may know what I am doing is what he wants me to do. My back ached and I became aware of the tension in the muscles in my low back and shoulders. I shrugged my shoulders and let another deep breath out.
“Be with me, Lord.”
Many times when I feel pain or have uncomfortable feelings, I ask the Lord to take it away. Instead, he helps me find ways to cope and bear it peacefully. Jesus is listening to my prayers, yet sometimes the way he answers them is different than what I imagine.
It is truly a blessing to work an office space that also has a chapel. The real presence of Christ in Eucharistic adoration is a healing and restoring power that I do not want to take for granted.
“Whenever you are filled with worry, desperate for hope, looking for clarity, or just need a moment of peace, go to a quiet place and visit Jesus in the Eucharist,” wrote Jenna Greiwe in Beautiful Eucharist. “Just talk to him like he’s sitting on the altar. He’ll give you what you need.”
When I was living in Vancouver, I would walk or run over to the adoration chapel at St. Patrick’s on Main Street and spend time in silent prayer with Jesus. It was like a date with the Lord, except we would be meeting in a church pew instead of over a cup of coffee. My knees would rest on the kneeler and I would talk to him about everything on my mind. Sometimes, I would be speechless and have nothing to say. I would look up at him (in the Eucharist) with earnest devotion and plead with my eyes for him to heal me.
I never stop asking him for things I need and the healing I want. His love is great. I know I am not asking too much, for he doesn’t lavish love on a few of his chosen ones but fiercely loves us all with an abundance of compassion.
It is hard to see his love when it feels like I am failing, floundering, or in some kind of finite fight or flight. When I am doing well, it seems like he is on my side. Yet, I know that he always loves me and never wishes any ill to befall me. I try to remember to praise him in all things.
That is why I love to spend quality quiet time with Jesus in Holy Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
“When you look at the Crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host you understand how much Jesus loves you now,” said St. Teresa of Calcutta.
I encourage you to visit an adoration chapel and spend even 15 minutes with Jesus in silent prayer. Bring a spiritual book and use its content to talk to him about your life: who you want to be, how you want to feel, and what you want to do for the glory of God.
May you grow in great love for the Eucharist, and may the everlasting love of God bring you peace, understanding, and good health.